“I’m not famous, I’m just a crossing guard!”: Utah Jazz legend, Adrian Dantley, got a job as a crossing guard for health benefits despite being one of the greatest scorers of all time
Jackson Reed
Published Apr 10, 2026
Adrian Dantley is widely regarded as one of the greatest isolation scorers of all time and yet, he works as a crossing guard.
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Adrian Dantley is one of the greatest scorers of all time but sadly, is not regarded as one being a part of this illustrious group due to the fact that being a member of the Utah Jazz, a small market team, won’t get you much recognition. When it comes down to pure skill, Dantley was undoubtedly one of the best isolation scorers of all time.
During his time in the league that over 15 seasons, Dantley amassed merely $3.5 million. That may sound like an incredible amount of money for the commoner but to be one of the greatest NBA scorers of all time and earn less than what rookies make nowadays over the course of 15 years isn’t ideal in the slightest.
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It was quite the shock in 2013 when it was made public that a player of Dantley’s caliber had found himself a new profession as a crossing guard.
Adrian Dantley is currently working as a crossing guard.
Adrian Dantley is actually doing quite well for himself from a financial standpoint and his reasoning for becoming a crossing guard was to get out of the house more often while also getting himself health benefits for retirement. Being a government employee, he would receive these upon retirement.
In an interview over a month ago, Dantley cleared up any misconception over whether or not he forces himself to work at this job, claiming he loves it.
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Along with being a crossing guard, the Jazz legend continues to immerse himself in the basketball space, becoming a referee for high school games, having done so for the past 9 years. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets from 2003-2011, during which he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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